Rotary jaw crusher

Abstract

A portable hard rock crusher unit especially useful for low clearance underground mines. Material to be crushed is horizontally fed to the rotary crusher jaws. A curved convergent material flow-path is employed between two crusher jaws. The outer member of the crusher is a substantially stationary outer curved concave jaw and its inner jaw member is a cylindrical element mounted to give eccentric motion on a shaft. The inner member may freely rotate on its eccentric or it may also be rotatably driven. Material fed between the inner and outer jaw members of the crusher encounters a progressively narrower opening as it is crushed and moved by the peristaltic pumping action caused by the eccentric motion of the movable inner crusher element acting against the outer stationary jaw.

I claim: 
     
       1. A generally horizontally fed rotary jaw crusher assembly comprising: horizontal feed means for feeding the material to be crushed in a generally horizontal direction to the cursher;   a large outer stationary jaw having a concave curved material engaging surface;   a smaller inner rotatable jaw having an outer continuous material engaging curved surface and a hollow center portion adapted to receive a center driven shaft about which it can rotate, said inner and outer jaw being located with respect to each other such that at least along a portion of their two material engaging surfaces there is formed a passageway of progressively narrow width into which all of the material to be curshed is fed from the horizontal feed means in a generally horizontal direction;   the center driven shaft adapted for use with the inner jaw being rotatable about its own center axis and smaller in diameter than said inner jaw's hollow center portion and mounted therein;   eccentric means connected to and moveable with said driven shaft for causing the eccentric motion of said inner jaw's material engaging surface about the center of said driven shaft; and   means located between the eccentric means and inner jaw material engaging surface for allowing the inner jaw's material engaging surface to freely rotate about the center shaft whereby material fed between the inner jaw and the outer jaw is subjected to a peristaltic pumping crushing action.   
     
     
       2. The crusher of claim 1 wherein the outer continuous material engaging surface of the inner jaw forms a generally circular configuration when viewed in cross-section. 
     
     
       3. The crusher of claim 2 wherein the measured total cross-sectional distance around the inner jaw's material engaging surface is about the same as the total measured cross-sectional distance around the material engaging surface of the outer jaw. 
     
     
       4. The crusher of claim 1 also including means for rotating the material engaging surface of the inner jaw at a speed independent of the driven speed of said center shaft. 
     
     
       5. The crusher of claim 1 including excessive force absorbing means mounted on said outer substantially stationary jaw for allowing the movement thereof when subjected to excessive forces from the material to be crushed. 
     
     
       6. The crusher of claim 5 wherein said absorbing means comprises hydraulic cylinder means and biasing means to return the outer jaw to its original position when the excessive force is removed.